Performance of Mortar and Chemical Grout Injection into Surrounding Soil When Slurry Pipe-jacking Method is Used

Small-diameter shallow tunnels are often being built by using the slurry pipe-jacking method. This system involves the pushing or thrusting of a drivage machine and concrete pipes into the ground. Chemical grout injection into the surrounding soil around the tunnel is carried out after the drivage and pushing processes are finished. The purpose of the chemical grout injection is to maintain permanent stability of the surrounding soil. However, the behavior of the chemical grouting material in the surrounding soil around the tunnel and the amount of optimum injection is not clearly understood. From these points of view, this paper discusses the performance of the chemical grouting material, when it is injected into the surrounding soil around the tunnel, by means of 2-D Eulerian–Lagrangian seepage analysis. Moreover, the effectiveness of the chemical grout injection was evaluated by using the non-linear finite element method. This investigation show when the range of the grouted zone is designed; it is necessary that the relationship between Young’s modulus of the soil/grouted zone and the confining stress be taken into consideration in order to establish effective, economical and safe chemical grout injection system. Understanding the performance of the seepage/dispersion behavior of the chemical grout and the characteristics of soil/ grouted zone is also important.     

Monitoring of Over Cutting Area and Lubrication Distribution in a Large Slurry Pipe Jacking Operation

Slurry pipe jacking was firmly established as a special method for the non-disruptive construction of the underground pipelines of sewage systems. Pipe jacking, in its traditional form, has occasionally been used for short railways, roads, rivers, and other projects. Basically the system involves the pushing or thrusting of concrete pipes into the ground by a number of jacks. In slurry pipe jacking, during the pushing process, mud slurry and lubricant are injected into the face and the over cutting area that is between the concrete pipes and the surrounding soil. Next, the slurry fills voids and the soil stabilizes due to the created slurry cake around the pipes. Fillings also reduce the jacking force or thrust during operation. When the drivage and pushing processes are finished, a mortar injection into the over cutting area is carried out in order to maintain permanent stability of the surrounding soil and the over cutting area. Successful lubrication around the pipes is extremely important in a large diameter slurry pipe jacking operation. Control of lubrication and gaps between pipes and soil can prevent hazards such as surface settlement and increases in thrust. Also, to find voids around the pipes after the jacking process, in order to inject mortar for permanent stabilizing, an investigation around the pipes is necessary. To meet these aims, this paper is concerned with the utilization of known methods such as the GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) system and borehole camera to maintain control of the over cutting area and lubricant distribution around the pipes during a site investigation. From this point of view, experiments were carried out during a tunnel construction using one of the largest cases of slurry pipe jacking in Fujisawa city, Japan. The advantages and disadvantages of each system were clarified during the tests.     

中越红河断裂带考察与研究（一）

基于对越南境内红河断裂带的野外考察,结合中国境内红河断裂带已有考察研究成果,从断裂几何结构、构造演化与地层发育、新生代地质地貌特征等多个方面,初步探讨了红河断裂带现今活动的基本特征.认为:(1)红河断裂带在断裂几何结构、断裂长期的发育演化过程、断裂活动的地质地貌表现等诸多方面都表现出异常突出的时空不均匀性和分段性;(2)红河断裂新构造运动以来的夷平面发育与解体、新生代盆地发育与堆积、水系及河流阶地发育与变形等方面的特征表明,中国境内红河断裂带第四纪以来总体活动水平由北向南逐渐减弱的趋势一直延续到了越南境内;(3)青藏高原侧向挤出作用的影响范围足有限的,这一认识对于探索川滇地区地壳运动与强震活动的动力学机制具有重要意义.     

Difference in the prevailing periods of internal tides between Sagami and Suruga Bays: Numerical experiments

Current measurements in the surface layer in Sagami and Suruga Bays showed existence of significant tidal currents which are considered to be mainly due to internal tides (Inaba, 1982; Ohwaki,ea al., 1991). In addition, the prevailing period of the tidal currents is semidiurnal in Sagami Bay, but diurnal in Suruga Bay. To explain this difference in the prevailing, periods, numerical experiments were carried out using a two layer model. The internal tides are generated on the Izu Ridge outside the two bays. The semidiurnal internal tide propagates into Sagami Bay having characteristics of an internal inertia-gravity wave, while it propagates into Suruga Bay having characteristics of either an internal inertia-gravity wave or an internal Kelvin wave. The diurnal internal tide behaves only as an internal Kelvin wave, because the diurnal period is longer than the inertia period. Thus, the diurnal internal tide generated on the Izu Ridge can be propagated into Suruga Bay, while it cannot propagate into the inner region of Sagami Bay, though it is trapped around Oshima Island, which is located at the mouth of Sagami Bay. The difference in the propagation characteristics between the semidiurnal and diurnal internal tides can give a mechanism to explain the difference in the prevailing periods of the internal tides between Sagami and Suruga Bays.     

TheKyucho in Sukumo Bay induced by Kuroshio warm filament intrusion

Surface temperature data obtained in and out of the bay all year round from March 1990 through February 1991, except from July through October 1990 were analyzed to investigate seasonal variability of theKyucho in Sukumo Bay, southwest of Shikoku, Japan. TheKyucho periodically occurs in the bay during both the warming period of March through June and the cooding period of November through February. The onset period of theKyucho is 8–15 days during the warming period and 4–14 days during the cooling period, giving an average of about 10 and 8 days, respectively. The position of the Kuroshio axis offshore in the south of Cape Ashizuri-misaki is a significant factor with theKyucho in the bay. Thermal infrared images taken by the NOAA-11 in the sea off east of Kyushu were also analyzed during the two observation periods. It is clearly found that a warm filament derived from the Kuroshio (KWF) advects northeast to Cape Ashizurimisaki along the Kuroshio, then encounters the southwest coast of Shikoku, followed by inducing theKyucho in the bay by the warm water intrusion. The alongshelf dimension of the KWFs is approximately 50–100 km, and the cross-shelf distance from the western edge of the KWFs to that of the body of the east Kuroshio is about 30–50 km. The KWF sometimes closely approaches to the east coast of Kyushu. An onshore meander of the Kuroshio front around Cape Toimisaki might grow into a KWF in the sea off east of Kyushu.     

Duluth Complex apatites: Age reference material for LA–ICP–MS‐based fission‐track dating

Anorthositic series apatites of the Duluth Complex, Minnesota, USA, have high spontaneous fission‐track densities of up to ~10⁷ cm^–2 and a homogeneous age of ~900 Ma, allowing high‐precision fission‐track dating based on LA–ICP–MS U analysis. Absolute fission‐track dating, track‐length measurement and chemical composition analysis were performed to evaluate a cooling history, which is essential for age reference materials. Preliminary inverse modelling for a sample with a shortened track‐length distribution yielded a monotonic cooling history from ~100°C at 925 Ma. The apatites incur an over‐etching problem when employing the commonly used etching protocol involving 5.5 M HNO₃.     

Northward cooling of the Kuncha nappe and downward heating of the Lesser Himalayan autochthon distributed to the south of Mt. Annapurna,western central Nepal

We investigated the tectonothermal history of the Lesser Himalayan sediments (LHS), which are tectonically overlain by the Higher Himalayan Crystalline. Fission‐track dating and the track length measurement of detrital zircons obtained from the Kuncha nappe and the Lesser Himalayan autochthonous sediments in western central Nepal revealed northward cooling of the nappe and possible downward heating of the autochthon by the overlying hot nappe. Nine zircon fission‐track (ZFT) ages of the nappe showed northward‐younging linear distribution from 11.6 Ma in the front at Tamghas, 6 Ma in the central at Naudanda, and 1.6 Ma in the northernmost point at Tatopani. Thermochronological invert calculation of the ZFT length elucidated that the Kuncha nappe gradually cooled down (30 °C/Myr) at the front and rapidly cooled down (120 °C/Myr) at the root zone. In contrast, the ZFT age of the Chappani Formation, located just beneath the Kuncha nappe in the central part, demonstrated a totally reset age of 6.8 Ma, whereas the Virkot Formation, structurally far from the nappe, yielded a partially reset age of 457.3 Ma. This suggests that the LHS underwent downward heating, resulting in a thermal print on the upper part of the LHS; however, the thermal effect was not sufficient to anneal ZFT totally in the deeper part. Presently, the nappe cover is eroded and denuded from this area. Detrital zircons from the Chappani Formation in Tansen area to the south of the Bari Gad Fault did not show any evidence of annealing, suggesting that nappe never covered the LHS distributed to the south of the fault.     

Spatial partitioning between species of the phytoplankton-feeding guild on an estuarine intertidal sand flat and its implication on habitat carrying capacity

The fishery yield of Manila clams, Ruditapes philippinarum, increased considerably in the 1970s but has decreased rapidly since the middle 1980s on extensive intertidal sand flats in Ariake Sound (Kyushu, Japan). A survey conducted in 2004 on a 3.4-km² sand flat located in the central part of the Sound (Shirakawa sand flat) revealed four dominant species: two thalassinidean shrimps (Upogebia major and Nihonotrypaea japonica), which are deep-reaching burrow dwellers with strong bioturbation activities, and two bivalves (Mactra veneriformis and R. philippinarum). All four species belong to a phytoplankton (diatom)-feeding guild. In the late 1970s, the Manila clam population prevailed in high densities over the entire sand flat, whereas its distribution was restricted to the lowest quarter of the shore in 2004. In contrast, the population sizes and zones of occurrence of the other phytoplankton feeders have expanded in the absence of R. philippinarum, perhaps an indication of competitive release. After establishment, effects of the thalassinidean shrimps on sediment stability appear to have further reduced clam abundances. Across the sand flat in 2004, wet weight population biomass estimates for N. japonica, U. major, M. veneriformis, and R. philippinarum (whole body for shrimps and soft tissue for bivalves) were 304, 111, 378, and 234 tonnes, respectively. Based on Manila clam fishery yield records from Shirakawa, the carrying capacity of the Shirakawa sand flat in the late 1970s was estimated to be two times greater than the sum value for the whole phytoplankton-feeding guild in 2004. It is hypothesized that (1) the amount of phytoplankton determines the carrying capacity for the benthic community on the Shirakawa sand flat, with both phytoplankton and benthic biomass at maxima in the late 1970s, and (2) the subsequent increases in competition for space have caused further declines in the Manila clam population biomass to approximately one-eighth of its past value.     

Instabilities in the consumption and production for cobalt

Cobalt is obtained mainly as a byproduct of the mining and metallurgical processing of copper and nickel. The amount of minable cobalt has a characteristic supply limit, which is dependent upon demand for copper and nickel. It is considered that cobalt consumption will be affected by the amount mined in the near future, because world demand has been gradually increasing, while the production from copper sulfide ores in Zaire and Zambia, major producing countries, has decreased for political, economical and technological reasons. The world demand for cobalt has surpassed the world mine production, and cobalt sales from the National Defense Stockpile of the United States and exports from Russia and cobalt recovered from stockpiled intermediates contributed to the supply in 1994. It is concluded, from a statistical point of view, that this trend of shortage and high prices for cobalt will continue in the near future.